Jake Knapp knew he was on the verge of challenging on Thursday’s special things after five consecutive bird runs, opening his own round in the Cognitive Classic.
Finally, he joined one of the most elite clubs in golf.
Knapp, the 99th player in the golf world rankings, joined the PGA Tour under 60 on Thursday, shooting Wuji’s 59 in the first round of the PGA National. This is the 15th time breaking 60 players on the PGA Tour.
“It’s just one of those days that have been clicking,” Knapp said.
He missed the 18-foot, 8-inch Hawks at No. 18, which would have tied the 58 tour record with Jim Furyk finishing in the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship.
Knapp became the 14th shot less than 60 rounds when he rolled in a birdie putt. Now that it has been completed 15 times, Furyk has combed out such rounds twice. Knapp is the sixth player in PGA Tour history, with no Hawks on the card, the first since Scottie Scheffler at the Northern Trust in August 2020.
Yes, he is considering about 58, especially after the 15th-place long birdie putt put him in 11th.
“I stepped up 16 t-shirts and just told my caddies, ‘Let’s play 2 in the last three games,'” Knapp said. “‘Let’s do what we should do.'”
If it can actually settle down, he must settle down 59.
Daniel Berger said: “I thought I was doing well, he had a 8-shot under 63.
The 12-bird season on the PAR-71 court broke the cognitive scoring record of 61 points, which was first completed by Brian Harman in 2012 and played by Matt Jones in 2021. There are three rounds of 62 rounds in tournament history: Tiger Woods finished second in the 2021 second round, Brandon Hagy and Chris Kirk, the final champion of the 2023 second round.
Knapp is only fifth in the first round of the tournament in the previous 60 rounds. Two of the first four games continued to win the game.
There was almost no wind, and the PGA nationals were basically unprepared for the morning meeting. The closest to any trouble is the seventh hole, where Billy Horschel (his college-time Florida crocodile) poked an actual crocodile with the club that caught the sun around the green and retreated it to his home in the water.
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“Living room crime! ” UF alum Billy Horschel and the Crocodile
Billy Horschel takes a break from his golf game and tries to escort the actual crocodile back into the water.
Berger, Russell Henley and Sami Valimaki hit 63 shots, Rickie Fowler was one of the 64-year-old who opened the door, and Jordan Spieth – who continued to make a comeback after wrist surgery – shot 65 shots, while Horschel, Zach Johnson and Camilo Villegas were some of the players who opened the 66.
However, no one is easier than Knapp. Knapp didn’t have a better tie than the tie in the first seven games of 2025, and then played golf history in the first round of PGA National, a course that has been less punitive in recent years. He only had to make a 98-foot putt, which was a tribute to get a great hit.
“You still have to shoot a gun. You have to do putts,” Fowler said. “Yes, it’s hard to do it anywhere. I don’t care if you start playing from 6,500 yards. You still have to make putts. You still have to get close enough to get those opportunities. With this place, we’ve seen some low scores, and when that’s right, the guys got it here. But obviously no one shot 59 here.”
Knapp opened as a rookie at last year’s Mexico Open. He played once and performed well, finishing his fourth tie last year in three rounds of 68 or higher and ended with a 13-pointer.
He started Thursday with five consecutive bird runs, a 40-foot 4-pass par 2 stretch that protrudes the 60-foot putter. The birds kept piled up: three in a row on the 9-11 holes, then hit three in the 13-15 holes – the last one was a 31-foot big putter, then crossed the green, and put the dead center into the cup.
“You have to put a hat on him,” Hotchel said. “He shot 12-under PAR 59 at PGA National, no one expected.”
After the round, Horschel and Knapp crossed the path. Hosher congratulated him, telling Knapp that he would hit “a lot of money… like a lot of money” in 59 hits without anyone shooting at PGA National.
“I think I shot four shots after seeing you shoot,” Hoscher told Knapp as he walked away.
Knapp’s caddie Mike Stephens said they weren’t afraid to talk about the opportunity to wait in the last three holes.
“I think if there is, maybe your game competitor is trying to give you a little distance, but he likes to talk,” Stephens said. “So we’ll look at it carefully in the last pair.” [of holes] Try to fill the time. Just to keep it the same. …Another day. ”
A 12-foot bird on the 3rd 17 pole hit the outside edge of the cup and then rotated, leaving Knapp under 11, leaving only five shots and five shots.
A 335-yard tee put him at 200 yards in the 18th hole, and it was a simple two shot, everything covered the history.
“Whether I’m shooting at 89 or 59, I’m going to come back tomorrow to do my job,” Knapp said.
The Associated Press and field-level media contributed to this report.
